Display hanger



March 17, 1964 G. P. IGOLDSTEIN DISPLAY HANGER Filed May 10, 1961 IN VEIV me I A r roe/v19) GEORGE P. Gowsrem 13y 2 United States Patent 0, F

3,125,223 DISPLAY GER George P. Goldstein, 1255 North and South Road, University City, Mo. Filed May 10, 1961, Ser. No. 120,457 Claims. (ill. 211-46) This invention relates to display hangers generally, but more especially to the display of a collection of pieces of fabric or the like, such as a multiplicity of swatches of drapery material for instance, and has among its general objects the production of such a device that is extremely simple in construction, sturdy so as to give good service in the use to which it is intended, neat and attractive in appearance, economical to make, easily and conveniently used in service, and that will be otherwise satisfactory and efficient for service for long periods of time wherever deemed applicable.

One of the more important objects of my invention is to so construct such a device with means for interconnecting cooperating adjacent ends of the same, that will compensate for slight irregularities in axial alignment or axial registry between said ends.

Another object of the invention is to provide said means to be secured to one of the cooperating ends of the pair of members, with a predetermined amount of play at said securement to thereby provide a rotational and tiltable connection relatively between said means and said member to which it is connected, so that the cooperating ends of said pair of members need not be in perfect axial registry when said ends are brought together for interlocking engagement.

An added object of my invention is to so construct said devices that the cost of making them in production is reduced to a minimum, by initially making the principal parts thereof all alike so that there need be no lefts nor rights to be considered in the manufacture or stocking of the same, and then after said parts so made are ready for further processing, different elements are attached to a pair of said initially made members, to complete the device.

A further object of the invention is to make one of said diiferent elements in the form of a sleeve of substantially the same external diameter as that of the adjoining portions of the device, so as to make said sleeve and adjoining parts all flush with one another, whereby movement of the various items carried by said hanger is had without hindrance or interference past said sleeve in the use of the hanger.

Many other objects and uses of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, all as will be more clearly brought out in the disclosures herein given.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, and the method of making the device, as will be clearly set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of the hanger, mounted on the carrier bar, showing one of the items adapted to be removably mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of said hanger device, in both open and closed positions;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional detail showing the hinging of the pair of arms of the hanger; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail of the interlock of the hanger, in both locked and open positions.

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, there is shown a drapery 3,125,223 Patented Mar. 17, 1964 ice material display hanger, as in the form' of the loop indicated, for removably suspending a collection of items 1, as for example swatches of fabric, therefrom for selection by possible purchasers of such fabrics, each such swatch being provided with a grommet 2 or the like for slidably receiving the body of the hanger therethrough. Any number of such hangers may be used at one time, all slidably mounted on a supporting hook, ring or bar 3.

Each hanger may consist of a pair of arms or rod members 4-4, hinged together at one of their meeting ends as at 5, whereby said arms may be mutually swung or pivotally actuated about their hinged axis, moving in substantially a single vertical plane.

It will be noted that the meeting ends aforesaid are offset so that they provide a bight 6 between said offsets, to loosely receive said supporting bar 3 at its upper portion, and having a restricted opening of smaller size than the diameter of said bar at the lower portion. In this way, the arms may be swung apart sufliciently to permit the mounting of the hanger on the supporting bar, and yet when the bars are brought to the closing position, indicated in dotted line in FIG. 2, said restricted passage will prevent accidental disengagement of the hanger from said bar.

Each arm is bent outwardly from its offset portion, and thence bent reentrantly toward the ends 7 and 8 so as to form a loop after said ends 7 and 8 are interlocked.

In order to minimize the cost of manufacture and to reduce the number of such parts that must be kept in stock, said arms are initially made alike, thereby obviating the making of lefts or rights, the terminal ends of said arms being preferably cut off at right angles to the elongated straight portions next adjacent the same, somewhat as indicated.

Now, to complete the manufacture when a lot of said like parts are ready for filling an order or otherwise,

separate and different elements are secured to the cooperating ends 7 and 8.

One such element may consist of a main portion 9 of substantially the same diameter as that of the adjoining ends 7 and 8 of the arms, hanging a dowel 10 projecting axially in one direction to be press-fitted into an axial recess or opening 11 extending rearwardly into the end of one of said arms, and with a diametrally reduced threaded portion 12 projecting axially in the other direction from said main portion 9.

A second element 13, in the form of an elongated hollow sleeve is pivotally and rotatably secured to the adjacent end of the second of said pair of arms, as by using a screw 14 to secure said parts together, it being particularly noted that the adjoined ends of said lastmentioned arm and element are not in tight engagement, but on the contrary there is both axial and lateral play or clearance therebetween, the dotted line position of said element 13 indicating the degree of tilt afforded, and of course, said element may be rotatably moved relatively of said end of the arm to which it is secured.

Said second element 13 is provided with threads on its interior wall, as indicated at 15, to cooperably receive the threaded portion of the first element and detachably interlock the arms of the hanger together thereat. Here too, the external diameter of the sleeve is such as to be the same as that of the adjacent portions of the arms and of the element 9, so that all of said parts are substantially flush with one another adjacent their interlocking portions so that movement of the swatches therepast will meet with no interference in use.

The size of the hangers may be as desired, depending on the kind of items to be suspended and their number.

It is needless to say that when a pair of arms of the kind set forth are pivotally hinged at one end, the swinging of said arms about said pivot will cause their free ends to travel through an are, so that although said free ends near one another, they will not be in perfect axial registry then. Further, after extended use of the device, they are apt to be sprung apart laterally to more or less degree, so that travel of said ends are not in a true plane and the interconnectable ends not brought into true axial registry; hence it was necessary to provide the aforesaid securement of the element 13 to the respective arm end, so that not only is said element rotatably mounted on said arm, but may tilt relative thereto at all points of its circle of rotation. In this way, compensation is had for any slight irregularity in true axial registry of the pair of arm ends that are moved toward one another, and the interlocking engagement is easily and rapidly done without any straining or stressing of the parts.

Obviously, although the device has been described as being a swatch display hanger, the construction and use may be extended to any other device that requires the interlocking between any two members movably toward one another into substantial axial registry.

I claim:

1. In combination, a pair of separable relatively inflexible rods having adjoining ends that are mutually opposed to one another and are movable into substantial axial registry and that are adapted to engagingly detachably interlock thereat, a threaded extension element projecting axially from one of said ends, and a second extension element movably secured at one end to the opposed end of the other rod to be tiltable about its secured end and extend axially therebeyond and threadedly rotatably engage said first extension element to detachably interlock said mutually opposed ends of said extension elements together.

2. In combination, a loop having adjacent ends that are mutually opposed and separable to provide first and second relatively inflexible rod portions that are movable into substantially axially aligned registry, means for movably interconnecting the other ends of said rods together so that said first-mentioned ends may be moved into said axial registry, a threaded element extending axially from one of said adjacent opposed ends, and a second threaded element having one end so movably secured to the other adjacent end of the other opposed rod to permit lateral shift thereof about the axis of said last-mentioned rod end and be movable to be axially aligned with said first threaded element and threadedly engage the latter element to detachably interlock said adjacent opposed ends of said rod portions together.

3. In combination, a pair of elongated separable relatively inflexible rod portions having mutually opposed ends movable toward one another into registry, and means for detachably interlocking said opposed ends together, comprising a threaded element connected to one of said rods and projecting axially from an end of the latter, a threaded sleeve element, and a fastener secured to said opposed end of the other rod and loosely secured to an end of said sleeve so that said one rod can project axially from the unsecured end of the sleeve, said threaded sleeve being so tiltably and rotatably loosely secured to its rod to radially shiftably fall from its axial relationship with said last-mentioned rod when detached from said rod-interlocking engagement.

4. In combination, a pair of separable rods having free ends that are movable relatively to one another and interconnectable into substantially axial registry and adapted to have a plurality of item-carrying grommets thereon whose openings are of slightly larger diameter than that of said rods so that said grommets may be moved across the ends of said interconnected rods from one rod to the other, and means for detachably interlocking said free ends together, comprising a threaded extension projecting axially from an end of one of said rods, a sleeve, and a fastener secured to said opposed end of the other rod and loosely connected to an end of said sleeve with sufficient radial and axial clearance to permit of relative axial tilt and rotational movement of said sleeve about said fastener, said sleeve being threaded to cooperably engage said threaded extension to detachably interlock therewith.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4, further characterized in that said sleeve is of substantially the same external diameter as that of both ends of said rods so as to be substantially flush with the exteriors of the latter thereat when said rods are interlocked so that said grommets may be moved across said interconnected rods without interference from said fastener.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 595,560 Cram Dec. 14, 1897 1,122,289 Loveland Dec. 29, 1914 1,236,266 Chaikin Aug. 7, 1917 1,601,605 Talbert Sept. 28, 1926 1,711,070 Suydam Apr. 30, 1929 1,772,356 Langsner Aug. 5, 1930 2,019,090 Pepper Oct. 29, 1935 2,172,681 Plaks Sept. 12, 1939 2,226,819 Jetlries Dec. 31, 1940 2,363,149 Rousso Nov. 21, 1944 2,557,119 Kjerulif June 19, 1951 2,907,468 Best Oct. 6, 1959 2,945,594 Parker July 19, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 87,701 Germany of 1896 70,577 Switzerland of 1915 

1. IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF SEPARABLE RELATIVELY INFLEXIBLE RODS HAVING ADJOINING ENDS THAT ARE MUTUALLY OPPOSED TO ONE ANOTHER AND ARE MOVABLE INTO SUBSTANTIAL AXIAL REGISTRY AND THAT ARE ADAPTED TO ENGAGINGLY DETACHABLY INTERLOCK THEREAT, A THREADED EXTENSION ELEMENT PROJECTING AXIALLY FROM ONE OF SAID ENDS, AND A SECOND EXTENSION ELEMENT MOVABLY SECURED AT ONE END TO THE OPPOSED END OF THE OTHER ROD TO BE TILTABLE ABOUT ITS SECURED END AND EXTEND AXIALLY THEREBEYOND AND THREADEDLY ROTATABLY ENGAGE SAID FIRST EXTENSION ELEMENT TO DETACHABLY INTERLOCK SAID MUTUALLY OPPOSED ENDS OF SAID EXTENSION ELEMENTS TOGETHER. 